Our economy needs more available jobs. I know what the unemployment rate supposedly is, but I also know there is no such thing as the Easter Bunny. Ask the construction unions and trade unions how many of their members are looking for jobs. Ask the unemployed electricians, plumbers, and masons how hard it is to find a good job.
If we do what we have to do correctly, we can create the biggest economic boom in this country since the New Deal when our vast infrastructure was first put into place. It’s a no-brainer. It’s so obvious that even the Democrats can figure it out.
The biggest questions are “How much is it going to cost?” and “Where is that money going to come from?” Financing a project is far too complex for most politicians to understand. These projects require real-world dollars, not figures on paper. Experience is required to understand how to budget properly.
I think we can all agree, after watching our politicians waste our tax dollars, that the last thing we want to do is to put them in charge of a trillion-dollar rebuilding program.
When I build a project, I watch the money. At least some of it is coming directly out of my pocket—and if I do the job right, a lot more is going back into that same pocket. I know what things cost, I know where the money goes, I know who is doing a good job, and I know who is just phoning it in. Our government should, too.
On the federal level, this is going to be an expensive investment, no question about that. But in the long run it will more than pay for itself. It will stimulate our economy while it is being built and make it a lot easier to do business when it’s done—and it can be done on time and under budget.
There are a lot of different ways to finance these projects. We need to put together a variety of sources to get it done. In some places there need to be bonds issued. The money is there—we just have to get it into place. The beauty of this is that every city and state has needs, which means that we can truly make this a national effort, controlled at the local level.
If we are serious about making America great again, this is where we have to start. Not only will repairing our infrastructure create jobs and stimulate the economy, it’ll make it easier for us all to get home at the end of a long day. And in this case we can make America beautiful again.
13
VALUES
THE ONE QUESTION I get asked all the time is, “Mr. Trump, how do I get rich?”
What they are really asking me is, “How do I achieve happiness?”
Most people believe that once they’re rich they’ll automatically become happy. I’m not going to pretend that being rich doesn’t offer a lot of wonderful opportunities, but it doesn’t necessarily make you happy. I’ve learned that wealth and happiness are two completely different things.
I know the richest people in the world. Many of them are great negotiators and great businesspeople. But they’re not necessarily nice people, nor are they the happiest people. They’re rich, they’re smart—I’d hire them to negotiate for me anytime, yet their personal lives may leave something to be desired.
The happiest people I know are those people who have great families and real values. I’ve seen it. I know it. People who have a loving spouse and have children they really love are happy people. Religion also plays a very large factor in happiness. People who have God in their lives receive a tremendous amount of joy and satisfaction from their faith.
Those who have watched me fire people on The Apprentice, who have read my bestselling books, or who have attended my Learning Annex seminars think they know me. Well, they know part of me—my business side. The professional part. I usually don’t speak much about my personal life or my personal values or about how I came to be who I am today.
To begin with, my father and my mother were enormous influences on me. Fred Trump was a rich man, but he made sure his kids worked hard. Believe me, he didn’t hand us anything—we had to work for what we got. He would drag me around with him while he collected small rents in tough sections of Brooklyn. It’s not fun being a landlord. You have to be tough.
I’d see him ring the bell and then stand way over to the side of the door.
“How come you’re over there?” I asked once.
“Because sometimes they shoot right through the door,” he replied. Rent collectors usually did this work, but the methods were the same.
My work ethic came from my father. I don’t know anybody who works harder than I do. I’m working all the time. It’s not about money—I just don’t know a different way of life, and I love it.
I raised my own kids the same way my parents raised me. I have five great kids. While my older ones were growing up, I’d have dinner with my kids almost every night. When they needed me, I was there for them.
Truthfully, I was a much better father than I was a husband, always working too much to be the husband my wives wanted me to be. I blame myself. I was making my mark in real estate and business, and it was very hard for a relationship to compete with that aspect of my life.
My kids were a different story. I was always there for them. My two oldest sons claim they’re the only sons of a billionaire who know how to run a Caterpillar D10. While my daughter Ivanka’s friends were vacationing in the South of France, she was in New York working.
My children have great mothers. My kids were raised to become hardworking, respectful adults. I could not be prouder of them. We never had any of the drug or alcohol problems that some of my friends’ families have had to deal with. Hopefully it stays that way! Now I see my kids becoming great parents.
Growing up in Queens, I was a pretty tough kid. I wanted to be the toughest kid in the neighborhood and had a habit of mouthing off to everybody while backing down to no one. Honestly, I was a bit of a troublemaker. My parents finally took me out of school and sent me upstate to the New York Military Academy. I had my share of run-ins there as well.
While I wasn’t afraid to fight, eventually I got the message. I learned respect for other people. I learned self-discipline. By the time I was a senior, I was made cadet captain—one of the highest ranking cadets.
My religious values were instilled in me by my mother. The first church I belonged to was the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Queens. I went there every Sunday for Bible class. The church had a strong influence on me. Later I went to Reverend Norman Vincent Peale’s Marble Collegiate Church when I was in New York, and joined Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida.
Reverend Peale was the type of minister that I liked, and I liked him personally as well. I especially loved his sermons. He would instill a very positive feeling about God that also made me feel positive about myself. I would literally leave that church feeling like I could listen to another three sermons.
I learned a lot from Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote the classic The Power of Positive Thinking.
I think people are shocked when they find out that I am a Christian, that I am a religious person. They see me with all the surroundings of wealth so they sometimes don’t associate that with being religious. That’s not accurate. I go to church, I love God, and I love having a relationship with Him.
I’ve said it before—I think the Bible is the most important book ever written—not even close.
Perhaps The Art of the Deal is second. (Just kidding!)
I’ve had a good relationship with the church over the years—God is in my life every day. I don’t get to church every Sunday, but I do go as often as I can. A lot of Sundays, when there’s a special occasion, and always on the major holidays, I make sure I am there. People like to give me Bibles, which I love.